Thanks to the tireless efforts of CNN and a million other news stations, we know how the recession is affecting AIG, Citi and other big industries but how is it affecting barbershops and hair salons. I know that barbershops are not on the Wall Street Journal`s radar, but they do serve a very important purpose in this fine country. Everybody needs to get their hair cut. Nobody likes walking around and looking like a bum. So I took to the Internet and the phones and I decided to see how the recession is affecting barbershops.

I hit up Facebook and SOHH.com and asked people if they are changing their routines when it comes to getting their hair cut. The most popular response that I received was that people are waiting longer to get their hair cut. Some guys have even learned to cut their own hair to save a couple of bucks. While speaking with Juan from After Hours Cuts in Marshall`s Creek, I asked him if business has slowed down. He told me that while the number of people has pretty much stayed the same, the amount that they tip has gone down.
I asked my cousin Justin about tips as well. He said that if he likes the barber he always tips his normal amount, but if its not his normal barber he only tips a dollar or two for a 15 dollar fade.

Barber shops may not be as important as Citi or AIG in the grand scheme of things, but they do serve a purpose in our society and so they deserve to get some attention as well. Business may stay at or around the same level it was before the recession, but if tips start to suffer then they feel it.